The Colonial Athletic Association announced its award winners for the 2013 season on Tuesday.

Here is the full release, with all of the award winners.

The major awards went to Maine's Jack Cosgrove (coach of the year), Towson's Terrance West (offensive player of the year) and James Madison's Stephon Robertson (defensive player of the year).

Tre McBride, of William & Mary, was named special teams player of the year, while Towson's Darius Victor and Maine's Christophe Mulumba were the offensive and defensive rookies of the year.

The University at Albany had three players honored, most notably junior running back Omar Osbourne, who was named to the first team, at the running back position. Osbourne finished third in the league, with 1,206 rushing yards (100.5 per game) and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Osbourne was one of just four CAA running backs to rush for more than 1,000 yards this season.

Two defensive players were named to the third team, in senior defensive lineman Andrew Smith and junior linebacker Christian Dorsey. 

The Great Danes struggled to a 1-11 finish this year, going 0-8 in CAA play, in the final season for legendary coach Bob Ford.

ALBANY - Junior linebacker Chris Wilk sat out last week's home football game against St. Francis (Pa.)

The news doesn't get much better for the Philadelphia native, who will have surgery on his right knee and is done for the season.

Wilk injured himself on the onside kick against Yale, two weeks ago, and will have surgery on Oct. 27.

Also on the injury front, freshman receiver Jameel Gay didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday but did practice on Tuesday.

Freshman running back Dillon Romain practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday, but didn't practice on Thursday because of an ankle sprain. Romain should be good for Saturday's game.

Drew Smith is at about 90 percent. He's been dealing with leg and knee injuries most of the year and even back before the season started.

"We're as healthy as you can get this time of year," said UAlbany coach Bob Ford.

The Great Danes left for Pittsburgh Friday morning at 9 a.m. and will stop in Rochester to have a walk through at St. John Fisher College.

Fisher Offensive Coordinator Dave Parks is a 2003 graduate of UAlbany and another assistant coach, Colin Disch, is a 2007 graduate of UAlbany.

The team will arrive around dinner time and kickoff is 12 p.m. on Saturday against Duquesne (2-1).

I talked to defensive lineman Eddie Delaney, quarterback Dan Di Lella and coach Bob Ford for a story about beginning the Northeast Conference season that will appear in Saturday's paper.

Below sophomore running back Andrew Smith talks about how he'll be back on the field on Saturday.



Below is the video preview compiled by the UAlbany sports department

ALBANY - Freshman running back Tramaine Wilson has been suspended for one week according to coach Bob Ford for violating team regulations.

Ford wouldn't elaborate, but said he will "hopefully" be back next week.

Wilson, who the coaches were very high on during the preseason, has rushed for 50 yards on 24 carries so far this season.

That leaves the Great Danes (1-1) with Andrew Smith, freshman Dillon Romain and redshirt freshman Amsterdam High graduate Ben Miseikis in the back field for Saturday's Northeast Conference opener at Duquesne (2-1).

Smith will play, after missing the Stephen F. Austin game because of a leg injury.

Other Injury notes:

• Left guard Kyle O'Keefe back, but won't play the whole game
• Wide receiver Jason Poore has a hamstring issue, but he'll play
  

"There's two times that you're going to be healthy," Ford said. "Fourth of July and Christmas. In between, you'll always have aches and pains."

ALBANY - I'll admit that was a pretty bad use of the first opponents name in the headline.

The University at Albany football team is getting ready to kick off the 2010 season against Maine on Thursday evening.

I caught the tail end of practice on Tuesday and heard a couple of rave reviews about redshirt freshman running back Tramaine Wilson.

Wilson supposedly has had a great preseason camp and will help carry the load at the running back position.

UAlbany coach Bob Ford said that he thinks Wilson will play quite a bit.

The Great Danes lost a lot of players from last season, but Ford thinks they can plug the gaps.

“What you hope is that you replace him, or those specific kids, with an adequate replacement and then some of the other positions step it up a little more,” he said.

Ford was asked who he thought had most some big steps during the preseason camp, leading up to the season and he added in no particular order.

Wilson
Junior safety Jake Ciccarello
Senior captain offensive lineman Andy Sparano
Sophomore wide receiver Nick Hutcherson
Sophomore linebacker Jon Morgan
Redshirt freshman punter Paul Layton

Ford also said they are getting good play from senior defensive linemen Trevor Anderson and Eddie Delaney and they expect that from those two.

"We have the talent," Ford said. "I think the major question is how are we going to gel."

Another note from UAlbany camp. Former player Chris Simpson, who played last season at linebacker, is going after a Rhodes scholarship.

Simpson has one year left at RPI, after setting out for a 3 & 2 program with UAlbany and RPI, to get his undergraduate degree and his master's.

The team leaves for Maine at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Look for our preview pages in The Record and a feature on the versatile Andrew Smith on Thursday.

ALBANY - "Don't let this fall apart."

Those were the words from graduating seniors David McCarty, the all-time leader in rushing yards, and Vinny Esposito, the starting quarterback, to red-shirt sophomore Andrew Smith (who will be further mentioned as Drew for various reasons, most notably there's
another Andrew Smith - a freshman from Wading River, NY - on the roster).

Smith said he was really close with both players, especially Esposito and that those guys want to see the team continue to succeed.

"I'm playing for them and for the University," Smith said.

The 2010 season UAlbany football season unofficially began on Tuesday with Media Day.

Smith said he is really ready for the season, especially since he basically has been waiting two years for Esposito to graduate so he can try to play more quarterback.

While he will compete with Dan Di Lella and Buddy Leathley, Smith will also be playing at running back (the position he will be listed at on the roster) and wide receiver.

"It's pretty much my time right now," said Smith.

*****

Look for a story on the season being close to start and a story about transfer Said Gaida, who will play his final season at UAlbany after Hofstra eliminated their football team in Wednesday's edition of The Record.

Here is Gaida talking about what Great Danes fans can expect from him.



I talked with Andy Sparano, son of Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and he gave me some great quotes for Wednesday's paper.

Sparano was named a captain of the 2010 team, along with Mike Kelly, Troy native Chris Blais and Kyle O'Keefe.

Here's one.

"This team lost a lot of very important players. You can never downplay what those guys have done here. They started a dynasty. Guys like myself and the other three captains and guys like Drew Smith, we look to build on that. We don't look to step backward, we look to go forwards."

*****

Burnt Hills native Zach Morton received the Capital District Student Scholarship, sponsored by the New York Giants.

I had a chance to talk to Zach, who was selected an all-NYS Class A second team after his senior year with the Spartans.

The 6-foot-5 Morton, who could stand to put on some bulk (I'm sure he's working on that), said that the main reason to come to UAlbany was the tradition and sense of "Purple Family."

Morton also looked at Sacred Heart and some schools in the Ivy and Patriot Leagues.

ALBANY - University at Albany fifth-year defensive lineman Trevor Anderson knows that the accolades are coming his way and he doesn't mind.

Anderson was named preseason All-Northeast Conference last week and was a first team All-NEC selection after the 2009 season.

After working hard over the summer, the Warnersville native believes he can have his best season yet.

"I’ve taken a lot from what I’ve learned over the years and I’m ready to put it all together and see what happens,” he said Tuesday before the Great Danes' walk-thru on University Field.

While he came into preseason camp a little heavy, according to coach Bob Ford, Anderson knows that while people are expecting big things from him, he is harder on himself to be great.

“I expect that out of myself,” Anderson said. “I’m not trying to sound too cocky, but I know what I can do.”

Anderson is expected to lead a defensive unit that should be strong up front with him and Eddie Delaney.

“We’ve been a very good run stopping defense in the past and this defensive line had a lot to with that,” Delaney said. “As a d-lineman, I’m really excited to see what we’re going to do on the field this year.”

Ford said if Anderson and Delaney both play to their potential they will make things awfully tough for opponents.

****

One big question for the Great Danes is how to replace quarterback Vinnie Esposito.

The two options seem to be junior Dan Di Lella and ultra-athletic redshirt-sophomore Andrew Smith from Guilderland.

While Ford said the position is a work in progress, he added “We are going to line Drew Smith up in a multitude of positions, quarterback being one of them."

****

If you've missed any of our preseason stories here are links

8/11 - Delaney, Danes set the bar high in '10

8/10 - Blais returns to spark Danes' D

Below junior defensive lineman Eddie Delaney talks about the excitement of the start of the 2010 season and the hopes for the defensive unit.

On Wednesday, I caught up with University at Albany red-shirt freshman Andrew Smith, who was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week after piling up 239 all-purpose yards and leading the Great Danes in rushing (99 yards) in their first game against Georgia Southern, 29-26 loss.

Smith was a dynamic player, both running and passing as a quarterback at Guilderland High School and was selected to The Record's All-Area First Team selection on defense in 2007.

After sitting out last year, he was able to show his talents in week one for UAlbany.

(We have the same initials so I'll just keep my questions in regular type and the answers in italics)

It's been a long time since you were in a game, were there any nerves?

AS: Every game that I was in during high school, I would get a little nervous. I saw a quote one time that said, 'The day you stop getting nervous before a game, is the day you stop playing.' I was nervous before high school games and then this one was unreal. There were like 20,000 people there and it was another stage that I've never experienced, especially since I've been out of the game for a year. There were a lot of nerves going, but after I got that first hit, I was ready and it felt good to get out there finally again.

What's it like when you finally stepped on the field for the first time?

AS: The first time I got in was the punt, which was the fake and felt really good - first play you get to take it that far, it definitely helped out a lot with the process. I just went in and felt like this was where I belong and what I should be doing. I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was the greatest feeling I've had in a while. It felt good, especially since I want to represent Section II, being a Guilderland guy, (Paul) Booker and I want to go out and represent Guilderland. It felt good, I feel like I did it, but it's the first step to a long future, I hope.

You came so close in the game. What was the mood like coming on the trip home?

AS: These last couple of seasons we've played some good competition. Last year, we had four CAA teams and they're considered the best conference in D1-AA. We're going down there and they have six national championships, but we thought we could win because they're struggling to find their identity. Usually we're content with being close to those teams, but this year it wasn't a good mood because we felt like we should have won the game, especially considering how many turnovers and mistakes we made. I feel like we should have won the game, everyone on the bus felt that way and the coaches did too. It was good to go down there and people didn't expect to be that close, but I felt like we should have won. It wasn't a good mood, but the future looks bright for us this season.

What's the mood like this week in practice?

AS: They have a good program over there. We played them last year and kept it close. They know we're physical and I know they respect us. They're a good team and they have a couple of good guys on defense from looking at the scout. The mood's good, positive, we're going to go in there and do what we have to do. We thrive on playing at other team's stadiums because we're not going to roll down and die and we like playing in a big stadium. We're going to go in there confident and positive. We expect to win. We don't want to keep it close, we want to take this one.

Are you hoping the secret is still a secret and you can catch UMass by surprise?

AS: I doubt that's going to happen. Georgia Southern had no clue, but I know UMass saw the film and so I don't expect them to be surprised when I step in. I expect them to key on me on some of the trick stuff, so I have to play harder I guess because it will be harder than Georgia Southern, but I expect that.

What was the reaction from friends and family after a good first game?

AS: They were all happy, family, parents and Guilderland community because (fellow Guilderland High School graduate Paul) Booker got the start (at tight end). They were all really happy. My mom was really excited.

The Great Danes (0-1) take on the Minutemen (0-1) at 6 p.m. on Saturday. UMass lost to Kansas State 21-17 in the first week.